Working Titlez

Occasionally, the journalist’s world in which I reside collides with the publisher’s world where I work. Print journalists follow the Associated Press style guides like a sixth sense. Book publishers, on the other hand, refer to the Chicago Manual of Style as “the Bible” and we defer to Chicago for the “right” answer to every sticky grammar or punctuation question. The serial comma has been a thorn in my side from Day One and I’ve recently made an executive decision!

The serial comma, for all of us who didn’t know it had a formal name, is the final comma used in a series of items before the conjunction (usually an “and”).  It is also known as the series, Oxford, or Harvard comma.

Chicago “strongly recommends this widely practiced usage . . . since it prevents ambiguity.” Meanwhile, AP says don’t use it. Other newspaper style guides such as the New York Times and The Guardian concur with AP, while lining up with Chicago are the Elements of Style and the Oxford University Press.

With all these comma experts disagreeing, what’s a book publisher who frequently publishes the work of newspaper journalists to do? Why, adopt the serial comma as our Stephens Press house style, of course.

If anyone ever wondered about the role of the editor, this is yet one more example of the myriad of details that must be checked and rechecked during the editing and proofreading stages of every book.

I am not a user of the serial comma, myself, so it will take some extra effort to retrain this over-stuffed brain, but I’m working on it!

Here are some examples from Chicago of the erstwhile serial comma:

Aaron Shepard

By Krissy Hawkins, Stephens Press

Need to check Amazon sales rankings? Research similar titles? Or just navigate the many features of Amazon? Whether you are a publishing house, self-publisher, author, or aspiring writer Sales Rank Express (salesrankexpress.com) is a useful key. What began as a private means for checking sales ranks of books developed into a free, multi-purpose guide for Amazon analysis and utilization. So much so that its creator, Aaron Shepard, has dubbed the tool a “Swiss Army knife for authors and publishers aiming at Amazon.” Many of the Sales Rank Express features offer a more versatile view of Amazon information. For instance, currently sales ranking for books on Amazon are revised every hour, giving this function a very short memory and often reporting only extremes in ranking, as opposed to a steady reading. With Sales Rank Express you can look up a book as well as its top ten “pairings” – the titles used by Amazon for its “Also Bought” listings – with their sales ranks, giving you a quick run-down of the most popular titles in that field.

The Las Vegas Writer’s Group holds monthly meetings for authors in every stage of their writing career. The programs they provide and support for fellow writers are invaluable. The February meeting will feature Stephens Press author Sarah Lee Marks (who writes as Lander Marks) presenting a unique perspective on the collecting of stolen World War II art and artifacts as told through her novel Artist’s Proof. Sarah has spent the past decade developing her sharp, sassy, and quick-witted characters with an earnest desire to deliver unbiased information from which the reader will take away new insights about this period in history. Using her book as the backdrop, Marks will dispense tips for developing solid research habits, and how to creatively incorporate this information into your manuscript. Marks will display a painting by Bela Kadar, recently discovered to be from the Nazi-era of ‘degenerate’ contemporary art.

February 19th ~ 7 PM ~ The Tap House. There’s a modest $5 fee and you do need to RSVP at Las Vegas Writer’s Group.

Books about books are a category I didn’t even know existed until my colleague Geoff Schumacher, a true bibliophile, introduced me. Currently I’m reading Books: A Memoir by Larry McMurtry, of Lonesome Dove fame. His life in the book world is fascinating and who knew he has owned Booked Up one of the biggest used and rare bookstores in the country (300,000 books) in the unlikely location of Archer City, Texas for thirty years. A rare interview with McMurtry in the Houston Chronicle reveals his concerns for readers in a world of technological gadgets taking the place of a good book.

When I was a child, we began every school day with not only the Pledge of Allegiance, but also a patriotic song. My Country Tis of Thee was my favorite. Later, as a grown up Kiwanian of many years, we began each meeting with a patriotic song — a charming custom that ought to be practiced throughout the nation. My Country Tis of Thee is still my favorite, and sometimes, while pretending to hit the high notes by using my internal mute button and letting the beautiful soprano voice of my friend Rebecca Bennett take over, I’d think about the words. My country. Our country. Tis of Thee. We. Isn’t that what it is all about? ALL of us.  Today, we celebrate what we’re all about — freedom. Today, we embrace change and find new reservoirs of hope and expectation as our country starts the first day of a new administration. My dear friend Monty Blackwell (who, come to think of it, I met in 7th grade Glee Club) sent me this photo and it seems fitting to share it today. As an aside, think about getting 18,000 individuals to the right field, in the right position, with no GPS, no Twitter, no cells, no PDAs. Wow! And God Bless America.

This incredible picture was taken in 1918. It is 18,000 men preparing for war in a training camp at Camp Dodge in Iowa. EIGHTEEN THOUSAND MEN! What a priceless gift from our grandfathers!

FACTS:

Base to Shoulder: 150 feet
Right Arm: 340 feet
Widest part of arm holding torch: 12 1/2 feet
Right thumb: 35 feet
Thickest part of body: 29 feet
Left hand length: 30 feet
Face: 60 feet
Nose: 21 feet
Longest spike of head piece: 70 feet
Torch and flame combined: 980 feet
Number of men in flame of torch: 12,000
Number of men in torch: 2,800
Number of men in right arm: 1,200
Number of men in body, head and balance of figure only: 2,000
Total men: 18,000

Little did I know “Desert Contemporary” is a design style, but now that I’ve seen it, I’m a fan. The Las Vegas Business Press reception for the debut of the 2009 Book of Lists was an elegant affair, held at Blue Heron’s Marquis Las Vegas. The networking event drew over 300 business folks plus Howard Hughes (well, fabulous HH impersonator Michael Parris Newman). Top notch catering was provided by the uber-student-chefs of Le Cordon Bleu who circulated with yummy canapes — the stuffed mushrooms were incredible. But back to this amazing party house — 9,000 square feet on four floors (yes, there is an elevator) of the latest green technologies make it a net-zero energy home. The indoor/outdoor living spaces are jazzed up with an ultra-modern take on vintage Vegas decor. As for outdoor living — the walls disappear, making the transition from in to out seamless. There’s an outdoor living room with a two-story fountain and THREE televisions, an outdoor bedroom and even an outdoor shower. According to the RJ’s article on the New American Home, it is best described as Jetsons meet the Rat Pack. Best yet, Stephens Press was invited to provide the literary vibe, hosting four Las Vegas Review-Journal columnists and SP authors including John L. Smith, Heidi Knapp Rinella, Steven Kalas and Geoff Schumacher. Guests enjoyed the chance to talk to their favorite columnists and we even sold a few books. All in all, a first class event with kudos to Michelle Stewart and her able team from the Business Press.

By Guest Blogger Gregory A. Kompes

Gregory A. Kompes, the Writerpreneur, offers information and inspiration in The Fabulist Flash, http://www.fabulistflash.com.

Most writers are avid readers. It’s essential really. How can we become true experts in our field and within our genres if we don’t keep up with what publishers are interested in? And, I have to admit, I’ve learned more about the craft writing by reading than from any class I’ve ever taken.

With all this reading going on it makes sense to get some additional mileage from the experience. If you’ve spent the time to read the book, why not write a review? In the process, you’ll learn more about what you’ve read and the review will help you gain some much needed online exposure.

Some of the most difficult writing we ever do is creating that 1-2 paragraph synopsis of our books. Yet, it’s somehow easier to do that for works by other writers. Learning how to write brief descriptions of others’ work, will also help you do the same for your own writing.

Search engines love relevant links. The days of gaining online rank by participating in link farms is over. Instead, search engines look for content links. If you’re a writer, your review of another writer’s work is seen as a content rich link. When you post your review of a book, be sure you’ve included some type of personal link. Additionally, provide links to the reviews you’ve had published on your own blog and Website. This back and forth combination makes the search engines happy and will improve your rank.

Need help learning how to write great reviews? Check out the eHow article: “How to Write a Book Review” (http://tinyurl.com/9k6kwh) or “Writing a Book Review” from OWL at Purdue University (http://tinyurl.com/95k99k).

There are lots of places online looking for reviews. Do a Google search for online booksellers. Most of them allow reader reviews. Here are a few to get you started:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com
Book Browse: http://www.bookbrowse.com
Book Club Queen: http://www.book-club-queen.com/reader-book-reviews.html

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com
Walmart: http://www.walmart.com
Powells: http://www.powells.com

Ever since the invention of vectors and pixels, I’ve been explaining to non-graphic types why we can’t take their logo pulled off the Internet as a GIF file and use it in a high-end corporate report. iStockphoto (more about them in a future post) recently featured this video at MacMerc.TV that graphically demonstrates the difference between vectors and pixels better than I’ve ever explained it.

What was this baby's name? Photo courtesy FreeParking.

Well, if you’re writing a period Victorian piece and the character’s names are Mikayla and TreShon, something might not quite sound “right” to your readers. Here’s a great way to find era-accurate names — the United States government! Yep! Turn to the Feds, or more specifically, the Social Security Administration. They have a database of the most popular names used for new babies for any given year. Figure your character’s birth year (isn’t it fun when you get to MAKE UP the facts?) and find a name you like. Baby Names Database

Look how names of changed over the decades — here are some of the most popular baby names of the past:

1890 — Samuel & Florence

1910 — Willie & Lillian

1930 — Harold & Betty

1950 — Ronald & Linda

1970 — Kevin & Kimberly

1990 — Kyle & Kayla

2007 — Noah & Chloe

Here’s another handy tip for authors. Let Google to the work to keep you up-to-date with the Google Alerts program. Once you register a search term, Google will send you a daily email with links to any Internet sites that mention the term. I suggest you set up an alert for your own name and another for the title of your book. You’ll be surprised what turns up from articles that mention your book to sites in Holland or Korea that list it for sale. If there is a book or author that is a direct competitor, you can register an alert for them  just to keep track. What else? If you are researching a book, let Google do some of the grunt work, scouring the web for key terms. You can also search for terms related to your area of expertise to to keep growing your knowledge. A bonus is discovering sites, publications, organizations or blogs that may be receptive to your marketing efforts or contacts that could lead to a speaking engagements. Tip: Be sure to include quotes around a group of key words such as “Carolyn Hayes Uber” or the title of your book. Otherwise, you’ll be inundated with unrelated alerts.